Blue A-Basin, CO
Independence drops 362 vertical feet over 1,569 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 26° about 660 feet below the top. That's steeper than 83% of the 5,615 blue runs we've measured in North America, and the 133rd steepest of 161 named runs at A-Basin. It faces south.
Facing south at an average 13°, Independence gets about 123% of the winter sun that flat ground at A-Basin does, December through March. That's sunnier than 88% of the runs we've measured, and the 20th sunniest named run at A-Basin. Its top sits at 11,830 feet.
Angled toward the low winter sun, it bakes: powder turns heavy soon after a storm, and in spring it softens early in the day and refreezes hard overnight. Shading from ridges and trees isn't counted yet.
under 25°25–35°35–45°45°+ Hover to follow the line on the map.
Measured by ZRankings from 1-meter USGS lidar. Steepest pitch is the steepest stretch of about 50 vertical feet along the skiable line. Run lines come from OpenStreetMap and can sit a little off the skied path.